Joe Yeager, Business manager of the Conneaut School District, will be retiring from his position at the semester break come January 2011.

Yeager’s retirement was approved at the Conneaut School Board meeting on Wed., June 9,when board members met in regular monthly voting session.

Present were board president Jody Sperry, vice president Rick Kelly, Dr. Carol Bocan, Dr. Walter Thomas, Lorri Drumm, Gina McCauley, Don Ellis, Jr, Cheryl Krachkowski,and David Schaef.

The retirement resignation was accepted with thanks for his long time service and efforts on behalf of the school district and best wishes, although Yeager made a statement noting the board did not agree to his March 2011 requested retirement date and suggested the board needed to treat long time employees better.

Yeager’s contract with the district called for retirement to be either at a semester break or end of a school year - June 30.

To have retired in March would leave the school district in the middle of a budget development process, which under current state regulations call for a preliminary budget to be first approved in February with the month before devoted to putting that document together after receiving budget requests from the district up to the Christmas/New Year’s holidays.

The budget process continues until June when a final budget is approved for the year that begins July 1.

A new person coming into a process part way through would be challenged as he/she learns about the district and past processes and budgets.

As it is, a new person coming in and taking over in January will be challenged to complete the process while learning about the district.

School board members did not indicate what they plan to do to replace Yeager but may do so at a special meeting to be held June 15 at which time plans are to adopt a final budget for the year beginning July 1, 2010.

That budget calls for a tax increase of a little over 2 mills. The district did not raise taxes in this year’s budget and does not know what state funds may be forthcoming as the state has not completed its budget for the year to begin July 1.

The base state budget to fund schools is looking at following funds set two to three years ago and maybe using federal stimulus funds to make up the difference, similar to what they did in this year’s budget when the state did not adopt a final budget until 100 plus days after the July 1 deadline.

The school district faces, as detailed in these pages before, an increase in payments for retirement nearly doubling what is being paid this year.

School districts, like teachers pay into retirement funds right along, at rates determined by the retirement board.The district splits their payment with the state while teachers pay a full amount. The current rate is over 7%.